A Priori Arguments for God’s Existence Chapter 27 A Priori Arguments for God’s Existence

Reason and Religion Two things commend our attention to arguments for God’s existence: Rather than to evidence for God’s existence from religious experience Arguments are public The religious heritage of the West has always given an important place to reason © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Ontological Argument Anselm constructs an argument for God’s existence based on an analysis of: The concept of God, or we could say on an ontological analysis of the concept of God What do we mean when we use the term God? © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

St. Anselm: Proslogion Anselm was a believer, but he sought a single argument for God’s existence that: Would not depend upon sacred scripture or upon the faith commitments of the believer Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Ontological Argument in Recent Thought In the formulations of the ontological argument by both Descartes and Anselm: The assumption is made that existence is a perfection Assume that existence is a quality that adds something to the concept of a thing © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Existence is Not a Quality Existence is not a perfection (or a quality or real predicate) that can be added to a: Concept to change the concept in any way All existence statements are a posteriori and synthetic Ontological argument attempts to argue for God’s existence completely a priori © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Ontological Argument’s Ongoing Relevance The ontological argument is still debated by respectable philosophers The difference between two forms of the argument centers on: The kind of existence attributed to God The existence of a being God as existing necessarily © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Contingent and Necessary Existence The possibility of its non-existence Contingent Existence Non-existence is possible; dependent; not a quality of perfection Necessary Existence Non-existence is impossible; independent; is a perfection © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Spinoza and the Inexplicability of God’s Non-existence Baruch Spinoza believed that the ultimate nature of reality could be known on the: Basis of concepts & principles neither derived from nor grounded in sensory experience Explanations for a thing’s non-existence Neither external/internal reasons could possibly explain God’s non-existence © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Coherence of the Idea of an Infinitely Perfect Being Spinoza’s argument on this point might be thought guilty of begging the question Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz Showing that the idea of God was not similarly inconsistent was crucial to the success of: A priori attempts to prove God’s existence © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.